Good for the Euro judges. Prisoners should have the vote - Telegraph.co.uk (blog)

The European Court of Human Rights says the UK must give prisoners the vote. Stand by for fury from MPs, denunciations of crazed Euro judges and complaints that out sovereignty has been undermined.

Now forget the sound and fury and consider, first of all, whether there is a case for prisoners getting the vote. There is, and it is a sound one. Prison is intended to deprive people of their liberty, not of their rights as citizens. Indeed, much of the point of prison is to rehabilitate people so that they can become useful members of society. The notion of "civic death" for prisoners is both arcane and reprehensible.

In much of Europe, this issue is a no-brainer. It is thought right and proper that loss of freedom does not mean loss of franchise. Britain has been out of line with the mainstream and in breach of the Human Rights Act.  Now it must comply, within six months, or face challenges and vast legal costs.

The second question is whether the court is riding roughshod over British considerations and UK law. In recent judgments, European judges have appeared to pay great heed to the margin of appreciation, or the room to manoeuvre accorded to fit in with individual countries' practices. In this case, the court has signalled that the right is not absolute – some prisoners may have the vote withheld.

But any exceptions must be strictly justified, with the presumption towards inclusion and universal suffrage. In other words, if the UK sets the bar too low – in attempting, for example, to give the vote only to short-term prisoners – then we shall once again face challenges in the courts.

The court is not being unreasonable. On the contrary, it is the UK that has been out of line in refusing to acknowledge a basic right accorded to other citizens of other countries without a second thought or an adverse consequence. It is high time we changed our ways. The Euro judges are right.